NDP candidate slams Liberal cuts
Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River (Nov 13/00) - Dennis Bevington focused on health when he brought the NDP campaign for the Western Arctic riding to Hay River last week.
 Dennis Bevington |
"Let's get back to the pre-Liberal level of health care in Canada and look at raising the transfer (payments," Bevington said.
"There is a serious amount of money that has to enter into the system in order for health care to come up to the levels before 1994."
Bevington called the Liberal's per capita health transfers "ridiculous" and said they fall woefully short of what's required in the North.
"On a per capita basis that amounts to $32 million over five years or $6 million per year -- that's not enough to solve our health care issues."
"In the Northwest Territories we have a much higher health care costs just to provide the basic services -- perhaps the highest in the country," he said.
"At the same time we have more health care problems in the Northwest Territories than anywhere else." He said the NDP has targeted Hay River because health care is, "by far the largest issue here."
"I've heard quite a number of times people saying 'I don't know whether I can live here.'"
"It's turning people off from their community," he continued. "They want to have stable health care professionals that can provide them a level of service that they, as Canadians expect."
Bevington said health care is also an issue in Inuvik and Aklavik.
"The problem of getting nurses in the Delta is a real concern," he said.
The Liberal government has also scaled back Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) paid by Ottawa to aboriginal and Treaty beneficiaries.
"(First Nations) ability to receive health care benefits is being steadily eroded," Bevington said.
"It's on the dental front, eyecare, their ability to see specialists; there is a growing dissatisfaction with the level of health care among aboriginal and Treaty people in the Northwest Territories."
The two national front-runners -- the Alliance and Liberal parties -- have been skirting the issue of two-tiered health care, Bevington said, leaving the NDP the only voice to protect the integrity of Canada's health care programs.
"The Liberals have shown their true colours with the cuts they've made to health care and we think the Alliance is talking about two-tiered health care," he said. "They're talking about for profit health care."
The two-tiered system has already gained a foothold in Alberta, where Bevinton said many of our services are delivered from and will eventually effect NWT residents.
"When Jean Cretien stood up and said he was going to go to Alberta and get those people in line, what happened," Bevington asked and answered, "he ended-up shaking hands with Ralph Klein -- he didn't do anything to prevent the passing of that bill and he hasn't done anything since."
He said the NPD will work to pass legislation that ensures there will be no for profit health care in Canada.
"That's what Canadians want," he said.
This was Bevington's second trip to Hay River on the campaign and he plans to be back once more before election day.
Last Tuesday he was in his home of Fort Smith, then to Fort Resolution, Fort Providence, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Fort Liard. From there he will fly back to Inuvik, Fort McPherson and Tuk before taking in a debate in Yellowknife on Nov. 20.
Bevington said he's spoken to "about 2,000 people so far," and says they are looking for change.
